...And Then Some By Evan I. Hammonds

re: ...And Then Some By Evan I. Hammonds

CRob87 — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 03:10:51 GMT

Four Eyes:

Not the races that I got to see. I always look for that on any televised race since that's my main area of interest.

Or...maybe I should've said "The Breeding" instead of the "Breeders". At least the Sires and Dams anyways.

re: ...And Then Some By Evan I. Hammonds

FOUR EYES — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:22:24 GMT

CROB, espn did list the breeders,

FOUR EYES

re: ...And Then Some By Evan I. Hammonds

jno — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 02:50:25 GMT

The pricing for the tickets was really reasonable. General admission $20, or sign up for santa anita's thoroughbred club and pay $15.

re: ...And Then Some By Evan I. Hammonds

CRob87 — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:16:04 GMT

One other negative point that I forgot to mention earlier is about the lack of attention that ESPN gave about the "Breeding" behind each horse. I mean...My God Man...it's called "The Breeders Cup".

So shouldn't ESPN at the very least of things list the "Breeding" of the horses during the post parade like former Networks used to do long ago ???

That's my main interest anyways !!!

And my own personal opinion is that... It is the "History of the Breeding" that seperates us from any other Sport.

Very seldom in any other Sport can you talk about the sons, daughters, grandkids, great grandkids etc. of a former Super Bowl or World Series winner who also won their sports biggest prize. And how cool it would be to see their future offspring possibly do the same...ya know ???

re: ...And Then Some By Evan I. Hammonds

hardlyhatful — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 04:16:49 GMT

The steeplechase is always overlooked and the casual fan never has a clue that it even exist. I also agree that most of the main events (Filly 2yo, F&MTurf, & Classic)need to be Saturaday when you get your biggest audience. While in american 1m1/2 is a maraton in other parts of the world that is their classic distance so I think to be a true marathon it needs to be up to 2 miles. JMO

re: ...And Then Some By Evan I. Hammonds

Pam — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:55:20 GMT

Yes, I agree. The price of admission was absolutely ridiculous. As one of racing's younger fans (a recent college grad), I wasn't able to afford tickets to the BC, much less any betting. How does the racing industry expect to attract a new generation of fans if we cannot even access their big events?

The BC should take all the money they use for adding on more and more pointless races and focus it instead on living up to their name - the WORLD Thoroughbred Championships. As said before, the BC should be hosted at tracks outside the US for once, the BC should foot the shipping bill for international horses, and ticket prices should be made affordable for the average person. Also, what's all this BS about dividing up the coverage between network channels and ESPN? For those of us who don't have cable, we cannot even watch live. Instead, we must wait and rely on youtube or bloodhorse's videos just to SEE the BC. How ridiculous is that?

This year's BC was a step in the right direction (in terms of globalizing). The European contingent was so strong. The competitiveness of the fields and the Pro-Ride made for very exciting racing. Hopefully, the BC can continue to improve.

re: ...And Then Some By Evan I. Hammonds

Scott — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:17:15 GMT

If you are going to have two days of racing, it should be Saturday and Sunday. To many people do not get to see Friday. And The sexes should be intertwined. The Distaff and Classic should be the same day.

re: ...And Then Some By Evan I. Hammonds

Tom M — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 00:54:02 GMT

I agree that the two day event does need some fine tuning. The Big-name filly and mare races (Turf & Distaff)should be returned to the Saturday card. It was a shame that so many people didn't get to witness Zenyatta's star performance on the Friday.

Some of the newer races should be relagated to the Friday card - Juvenile Turf events, Marathon etc.

I also would like to see the Marathon at two miles. The Jockey Club Gold Cup used to be!

All in all it was a bit overwhelming but overall the two days at Santa Anita were the most enjoyable days of racing I've had in some time. It was well worth the jouney.

Incidentally I liked your observation, "Goldikova's reincarnation of Miesque". That was exactly what I thought watching her coming down the stretch. She runs in a similar manner to Miesgue, with the low head carriage and extended neck. It immediately reminded me of Miesque's win at Hollywood Park.

I thought that Goldikova's performance was the most outstanding of all over the two days.

re: ...And Then Some By Evan I. Hammonds

Golden Gate — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:57:10 GMT

I liked having Ladies day. It was nice getting to see all the fillies run the same day and the colts the next.

I think it was wonderful! The only thing i did not like was ESPN focusing so much attention on certain individual horses to the exclusion of others. All of these horses are equine athletes and the stories behind all of them should be emphasized more.

re: ...And Then Some By Evan I. Hammonds

Bellwether — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:45:17 GMT

everything we have has GONE over there!!!PLEASE leave it HERE...CANADA & Woodbine is OK as the fans can drive up there!!!they did a hell of a job...A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all the Breeders Cup people & the CREW @ ESPN...thanks for the EXPOSURE!!!LLTK!!!

re: ...And Then Some By Evan I. Hammonds

tom — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:06:09 GMT

Why is it Friday & Saturday? I vote for Saturday & Sunday, when me and most of the world have the day off. Only got to see replays of Zenyatta's great performance.

re: ...And Then Some By Evan I. Hammonds

CRob87 — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:24:28 GMT

I also do agree that all of the "Marquee" races should all be run on Saturday. Ladies Day was a nice gimmick, but ultimately the best of the best needs to be on the day that always gets the most attention (Saturday).

I also think that eventually the Breeders Cup can work out the overlapping confusion of the naming of the races...somehow ???

But, I do feel I need to mention something about the naming of the "Marathon". I do like the name of it and I also have heard that other than the "Belmont Stakes" it's the only other Grade I race run on Dirt/Synthetic at 1 1/2 miles. BUT, if your going to name something "Marathon", shouldn't it actually be the longest race of them all ??? Like maybe a flat 2 miles ??? I understand that that's a very long way for a horse to run, but if it were a flat 2 miles maybe it could attract some of those Australian breds who seem to be able to run all day.

And my last opinion is that with the addition of all of these other new races I do think that the Breeders Cup Steeplechase needs to be included at least on the Friday card. I think that for the fans it could be kind of a cool, something different to see kind of thing...ya know ???

re: ...And Then Some By Evan I. Hammonds

STEVE STONE — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:40:28 GMT

Hello Evan...Hopefully @ some point in the not to distant future..The Breeders'Cup World Championships will embrace an truly international milieu and be contested at various foreign race tracks throughout the world..This will not only provide new and exciting impetus to the Cup..but hopefully generate an much newer and younger fan base that is so desperately required for the sport to survive...True there are an plethora of moving parts here for this to ever come to fruition..however I fervantly hope that the braintrusts behind the Cup are insightful enough to at least discuss this ambitious opportunity and initiative with the industry leaders around the globe..Thank you always for your kind window...Best regards..Steve Stone..East Hanbover..New Jersey..

re: ...And Then Some By Evan I. Hammonds

Zak — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:35:59 GMT

Overall, it was a thrilling and exhausting day. I think the pricing structure is too high.However,I brought my two daughters (18 and 20) to their first Breeders Cup, they were amazed how "fast"the day went, how exciting the racing was, and they can hardly wait for next year. As one said, "Emerald Downs was never like this." Having them get excited about horse racing made it worth the price of admission. I'm all for the Europeans bringing their horses to the Breeders Cup, makes it truly a "World Championship" which is what it should be.

re: …And Then Some By Evan I. Hammonds

THE ROCK — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 23:05:45 GMT

I Agree 100%. And with the whole flooding of Euro participation, the Win & You're In concept can really be affective! What happens now! How do they qualify?

re: …And Then Some By Evan I. Hammonds

Richard R — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:33:31 GMT

I think that if they're going to have two days of BC racing that all of the "marquee" races should be on Saturday. This would cause a remix of the cards so that races like the "Marathon", "Pro Ride Mile", "Juvenile Turf" move to the opening day; and, the F&M Classic, Turf and Juvenile be moved to the main-event day. I think ten races is plenty to have on a big day and the undercard can be adjusted to fill in where needed. On balance, I thought the racing was very good and the TV coverage likewise. I hope that someone understands that the prices being charged and the requirement to purchase a two-day package pretty much eliminates your average horse-racing fan from attending. Is that the idea?